The attack was seen as part of a relentless new campaign by Palestinian militants to carry out a large-scale terror attack.

The blast caused no injuries but set security officials on edge.

Along with dozens of suicide bombing attacks aimed at killing Israeli civilians, Palestinian militant groups are looking for a huge target of September 11 scale, said experts.

"The terror organisations moved today to a new phase of attacks," said former security official Ehud Yatom.

He told Israel Radio that the attempted attack at the fuel depot was similar to the September 11 attack on the World Trade Centre.

Also this week, Israeli security officials released details of a thwarted attack to set off a ton of explosives under Tel Aviv's tallest office building complex.

The attempt followed a suicide bombing attack last night in Rishon Letzion, nine miles south of the fuel depot.

The bomber and two Israelis were killed. A militia affiliated with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement claimed responsibility, while the Palestinian Authority denounced the bombing, saying it would give Israel an excuse to retaliate.

In a political development yesterday, five members of a Palestinians' Central Elections Committee submitted their resignations to Arafat after the Palestinian leader failed to set a date for new elections, an official close to the panel said. There was no comment from Arafat's office.

Arafat has been under heavy pressure from Israel, the US, Europe and his own people to reform his corruption-ridden regime, to call elections and streamline his security forces.

Israeli and US leaders insist that Arafat must work to prevent terror attacks by Palestinian militants.

Yesterday's blast at the depot ignited diesel fuel spilling from the truck and left the cabin a molten wreck, but the flames were quickly extinguished before they could spread to nearby tanks containing millions of gallons of fuel.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The fuel depot, located next to residential suburbs in the Tel Aviv area and near sensitive Israeli intelligence installations, contains huge aboveground fuel tanks.

For decades, residents and environ-mentalists have urged its removal, warning that it is a tempting target for terror attacks or could blow up accidentally with catastrophic results.

"A huge disaster has been averted." said Yossi Sedbon, the Tel Aviv police chief. "It was a miracle."

Shlomi Sarig, acting manager of the depot, said that there had been warnings of a possible attack and security had been boosted accordingly.

However, security guards who checked the truck at the depot's en-trance failed to spot the bomb attached to the vehicle's chassis.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer acknowledged that Israel's recent military offensive in the West Bank had heightened motivation among militants to carry out attacks.